Lock for air valves



May 5, 1925. 1,536,388

I H. H. HOBBS LOOK Fo AIR VALVES Filed Sep'h. 16. 1924 UNITED STATES Patented May 5, 1925.

r 1,536,388 PATENT OFFICE.

' season it. Homes, 01* America, r'LoiiInA.

LOCK FOR Ain VALVES.

Application filed September 16, 1924, Serial No; 738,042.

To all whom it mag unaware;

Be k o h I, H RT HOBB a citizen of the United States, residing at A-lachum-j in the county of Alaehua and Sta-teof Florida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Looks for Air Valves, of which the following is aspecifiwhen i 1 a This invention relates to looks for preventing the unauthorized use of motor cars byad nitting air to -the cylinders of their motors through suitable valves, so that the motors cannot be operated until such valves are closed; and it consists in the novel con- Istruction and combination of the parts hereinafter fully described and claimed whereby the -air-valve is, locked when opened so thatpit canonly bennlocked by a person having. the combination necessary to operate the loclc. I l a e In "the drawings, Figure -1 is avertical section through an air valve provided with a combination lock according to thisiinvention. Fig, T2 is a cross-section, from :onautdmobile in the usualmanner.

above, talren on theiline 2 2 in Fig; 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-section, from above, taken on the line 3-43 in Fig. 1. Fig; 4 is a plan view of the three disks on the valve stem." Fig; 5-is a plan view of one washer. V

:the valve and air pipe will prevent the motor from being operatedto drive the car The upperqend of the valve casing is closed by are riveted-v over.

a covers which is permanently secured toit'in any approved way; i The; cover can be secured by screws 12 the ends of which The casing, cover and air pipe are preferabl formed of very hard inetahsuch as steel, soithat they cannot be opened or sawed off; ;The air pipe can be welded or brazed i to the casing and to the manifold.

A valve stem 14 isprovided and has a screwthrea-ded portion 15 which works ina serewth ad d ho e in the cover. 10,. and

this stem'has also a disk valve lbf secnred 0? iii .5011 cigarette Valve seat 8. The

rically opposite to the long lug 35,-a-nd short lugs of the 11 per and lower are-1 arranged at a right angle with than lower end portion 17 of the valve steni is tubular, andworks over a stationary guide spindle 18 which is secured to the casing or a r pipe concentric with the valve seat. This spindle guides the valve onto ltsseat,

and permits the valve stem to work freely in the cover. a .v

The upper part of thecasing is provided with a longitudinal. stop rib 20. The middle part of the casing is provided with a series of longitudinal grooves 22, preferably twelve. spaced at equal distances apart around it, and having their bottoms arranged in a circle which intersects the stop rib 20. Three of the grooves 22 extend all theway through the projection, and three others only extend about half way through the projection 21 for their full depth, their lower end portions being formed sleeve or internal projection 21 hav ng aa of shallow grooves 24 of about one-half the depth ofthe grooves 22.; but otherwise similar to them. The remaininggrooves 22 onlv extend about halt way through the projection 21, so that their lower ends are closed by stops 23. The va ve stem 14 is provided with any suitable handle 25Zfor revolving it, and is extended to any point convenient to the person who drives the car. The grooves 24 are hereinafter referred to as shallow grooves, and all the other grooves are referred to as deep grooves, irrespective of their length. The deep grooves closed by the stops 23 and the deep grooves in line with the shallow grooves 24 l are shorter than the deep grooves which BX- tend continuously from one end to the other of the sleeve or projection21.

The valve stem 14 has three disks 2 8, 29 and 80 mounted on it, and .31 are cupped spring washers arranged on the stem between the adjacent disks. A stop shoulder or nut 32 is provided on the stern for the top disk 28 to bear against, andahelical disk 30 and the valve which is secured on the stem by a nut 34. The disks are held in frictional engagement with the stem by the washers and spring so that they revolve with. the stem when not obstructed. Each disk has along radial lug 35 on its periphery and a shorter lug The short lug 36 of th middle disk is arrange di metspring 33 is interposed between the bottom long lugs but so as to project in opposite directions. When all three long lugs are arranged directly in line with and one above another the short lugs are all out of line with each otherl When the valve is closed the motor operates in the usual way. When the driver leaves the car he opens the valve by revolving and sliding the valve stem so that all the disks are raised above the sleeve or projection 21. He revolves the stem 17 until the screwthreaded part 15 is clear of the cover 10, and then slides the stem outwardly to a sufficient extent. The closing of the air valve can only be eiiected by one who knows the correct combination. In order to close the valve the three long lugs 35 are placed in line by contact with the stop rib 20. This permits the long lugs to pass downwardly through any one of the continuous grooves, but not through the closed grooves or through the shallow grooves. The stem is revolved in a certain way to permit the short lugs 36 to pass downwardly through the shallow grooves, so that ultimately, the correct combination having been worked, all the disks are moved down to a suflicient extent, and the air valve is screwed down onto its seat. In the example shown, when the stem 17 is revolved clockwise and the long lugs 35 are placed in line by contact with the stop 20, the three short lugs are out of line with each other, as will be seen by Fig. 4. The long lug 35 of the bottom disk 30 can now go down the deep groove 22 at the left hand in Fig. 3, and its short lug 36 can go down the shallow groove at the top of Fig. 3. The stem 17 must now be revolved to turn the middle disk 29 until its long lug 35 comes over the deep groove at the left in Fig. 3 below the groove 22. The short lug 36 of disk 29 now comes over the shallow groove 24, diametrically opposite the deep groove. and the disk 29 can be pushed down. The stem 17 must now be revolved until the long lug 35 of the top disk 28 comes over the deep groove 22 at the right in Fig. 3, and its short lug 36 comes over the shallow groove at the right in Fig. 3. The top disk can now be pushed down, and the screw 15 can be screwed into the screwthreaded hole in the cover until the valve is screwed down onto its seat. The locking mechanism on the casing and valve stem is always ready for use, as no key is required, and nothing has to be set or arranged before the valve is operated.

The washers 31 are preferably splined to the valve stem, and a separate nut 38 is provided for adjusting the spring 33. The valve 16 is secured loosely on its stem by the nut 34, so that it will adjust itself to its seat when closed. The valve can be opened without working the combination, as the disks do not descend out of engagement with the slots or below the end of the projection 21.

What I claim is:

1. The combination, with a casing having a valve seat at one end, of a revoluble valve stem provided with a valve for closing the valve seat and having also means for moving it longitudinally in the casing, and a locking mechanism inclosed in the said casing and carried by it and the valve stem and operating to prevent the unauthorized use of the valve.

2. The combination, with a casing having a valve seat at one end, of a revoluble valve stem provided with a tubular end portion and a valve for closing the valve seat, said stem having also means for moving it longitudinally of the casing, a guide spindle secured to the casing concentric with the valve seat and projecting into the tubular portion of the valve stem, and a locking mechanism inclosed in the said casing and carried by it and the valve stem and operating to prevent the unauthorized use of the valve.

3. The combination, with a casing having a valve seat at one end and a cover at the other, of a revoluble valve stem provided with a valve for closing the valve seat and having a screwthreaded portion which engages with a hole in the cover, and a look ing mechanism inclosed in the casing and carried by it and the valve stem and operating to prevent the unauthorized use of the valve.

4. The combination, with a casing having a valve seat at one end and longitudinal grooves of predetermined length and depth at its middle part, of a valve stem provided. with a valve for closing the valve seat and having also means for moving it longitudlnally of the casing, and disks provided with lugs of predetermined difi'erent lengths for passing through the said grooves selectively, said disks being mounted in frictional engagement with the valve stem and operating to prevent the unauthorized use of the valve.

5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4, the said disks and valve having spring devices mounted between them on the valve stem and pressing the disks longitudinally signature.

HORTON H. HOBBS. 

